Another reason the GOP brand is so tarnished

Jim Wooten of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a nice post today on AJC.com decrying Georgia's Republicans in the state House to lead like Republicans. The Speaker and the Governor are both playing with taxes, and not necessarily in beneficial ways. He very nicely sums up how me and many others are feeling:

The great frustration with the new majority under the Gold Dome is that, with rare exception — tort reform and special education vouchers, for example — they are largely indistinguishable from the Democrats who preceded them. The semantics game on taxes is right out of the Democratic playbook.

It was only a few years ago that Republicans climbed down power in Georgia after more than 140 years of Democrats holding all the reigns of power. Yet, just like we saw on the national level, the Republicans have squandered their majority. And unlike at the national level, where at least the GOP started with a clear set of goals, Glenn Richardson and the Republicans never really knew what they wanted to get accomplished. Wooten's assessment matches my own:

What this majority really needs to do is develop an agenda based on the state’s transportation, education, medical and water objectives — and then determine priorities and funding requirements. If a tax increase is warranted — and it may be — Perdue, Richardson and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle should make the case, and explain to Georgians what we’re getting and why the additional money is needed.

Instead, we get tax shifts and new tax targets and tax semantics.

This frustration is something the GOP is going to have to deal with at the federal level and in many states during the 2008 election. Republicans are tired of unprincipled leadership from their own party. I don't think they'll go vote for Democrats, but I do wonder if they'll vote at all, and that's just as dangerous.

GOP - get it together. Limit spending, hold or cut taxes, find (and sell!) some creative approaches to social issues like health care, live your values instead of just claiming them, and rebuild this party.